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It’s Galway again for us next year

The draw for next year’s Connacht championship is on right now and we’ve been drawn against Galway in the quarter-finals. Bloody hell, bloody Galway again.

Needless to say it’s a nightmare draw for both of us, partly because neither of us have no desire to get up close and personal with each other so early in the championship but also because whichever of us loses ends up in the first round of the qualifiers.

In 2016 and again this year we came into our meetings with Galway completely undercooked and suffered the consequences. We definitely won’t want to be in a similar state of readiness when we welcome them to Castlebar next May.

Definitely the draw we did not want. Had hoped the older guys would be rested during the spring but as we will play Galway in early may that may not happen now. Imperative that we beat them because I doubt we could make it through back door again. Lifting yourself for a high in May and keeping it going to early september is certainly not what the doctor ordered for this team

What’s with all the negative comments,I am very confident we will get the result against Galway,why should we fear any team in Connaught or in the Country for that matter, let’s get behind the lads with confidence and complete the task,Hon Mayo!!

From a Galway point of view the draw is a disaster.. We will have a very tough league campaign and then head to Castlebar where id be 100% Mayo wont want to lose 3 in a row to us.. The winner will win Connacht , the loser could face at least 7 games to get to a semi..

I think stephen rochford will find it difficult to nod off tonight ,bad draw for the losers of mayo v galway,I REALLY HOPE S.R. stays on and announces it soon. I hope the draw is not the last straw for him.

Wasn’t it last year your man doing the draw took out the ball, had a look at it, didn’t like what he saw and then threw it back in to the bowl. Think he was a Sligo man and that’s how we ended up getting Sligo in the first round. Can’t remember the exact scenario but it was a pure farce.

We are all forgetting one thing here Galway have to navigate their way through the mine field that is the first Div. They will be anxious to retain their Div 1 status given that it took them so long to gain promotion from Div 2. We should be more worried about the Rossie threat, They can peak for a Connacht Final and remember them boys in Croke Park. Also the winners of our game have to travel to Sligo and that is one I would be more worried about.

The problem with the draw is we have Galway so early…easy to get caught out. At least the Super 8s takes away any feelings that it’s better to go the qualifier route for more games. There will only be two extra matches to get to QF via qualifier route.

Perhaps it’s no harm to get Galway. The more big games the better…..shur isn’t that what it’s all about. After all we’ll have gone 8 months without a chip game come May. Never forget all the games soccer and rugby supporters get to enjoy supporting their teams whereas most inter county teams get two or 3 games in the summer…..and then wait 10 months for another chip game.

Lose to Galway and we might have Dublin in Castlebar for a Super 8 game……imagine that.

Ah lads cop on a bit. We were on a different planet to Galway in August and September this year. That’s not being disrespectful it’s the truth. We are a top 2 side. What’s with all the negativity??? Fair play to Galway if they beat us again, but when’s the last time they won 3 in a row over Mayo? It’s a bigger nightmare for them, this draw. In castlebar, huge crowd, oh boy, we will be up for it! Bring it on!!!

Big headache for management is do we do what we did the last few years and aim to peak in August/September fitness wise or change it to avoid the back door ?? In fairness they got it spot on the last few years …we know we are good enough to win Connaught but where do they need to be fitness wise to do it ..Marathon or a 10k ?

Yew tree i dont think Tuam will be used at all this year. Redeveloped work due to starting in the coming months, The county board here wont invest in it so us locals here are trying to save our stadium. We got Dublin and yourselves among our home draws so they will bring ye back into Salthill to try and get the bigger crowd.

Great draw. Outside of playing galway or the rossies your not goin to learn too much about yourself. No disrespect but playing a leitrim or even sligo isn’t really goin to prepare you for much down the road. We just have to make sure we are ready for galway this year. The rossies will be gearing up their squad to win another connacht. Galway will be planning to derail us again. If we.get up to 85% of what we’re capable of we’ll win connacht. We’ll just have to start firing early this year and keep it goin for the year.

That draw means we might have to throw our hat at the league for this year. The team will need to be fresh for Galway and to be fighting for League points at the death, could leave us flat come the big one. This is now a perfect opportunity to blood some of those promising young players, who should be chomping at the bit to prove their worth to the Manager. If that means slipping down to division 2, so what, this could very well be our last chance saloon with this fine group of players to win Sam, and whatever actions are necessary to give them the best chance of achieving their goal, then that’s what should be done. And if Rochford is having second thoughts about committing for another year, then this draw should wet the appetite and get the juices flowing again.

Larry Duff – Yes you’re right. I’ve just checked that. The reason for the change from 26 August is that Pope Francis may be attending the World of Families event being hosted in Croke Park over 5 days……….don’t mention it to Garth Brooks if you bump into him (he wasn’t so lucky with his proposed 5-day event).

Ah whats with all the pure negative comments
Reasons as to why I would not fear Galway next year

1.Keith Higgins was sent off 20 mins into the game this year when we were playing quite comfortably into a stiff Salthill breeze.
Mayo dominated the game for most parts but just struggled to take our scoring oppurtunties made harder with only 14 men on tge field.

2.We had no Boyler ,Aido or Harrison in that game wont happen again unless there injured.Rochy biggest mistake of the year not starting Boyler in that Galway game.He starts we win , end of.

3.This game will be In McHale park huge advantage.

4.The 2 kerry games prove that we are far ahead of Galway so let us not be fearing them.

Sure jaysus when we decided to throw off the shackles this year we bet roscommon by 22 points.

I think Roscommon bet galway by 9.

We bet kerry by was.it 5 when we decided to play football, and they took care of galway handy enough before that.

We have just played very much in a conservative way at the start of the last couple of campaigns. If we play positive from the start of next year’s campaign we’ll be battling it out for Sam this year. No back door needed.

Problem is not playing Galway …
It’s playing Galway without being fully fit team and a good number if your team in college/working in Dublin.
Plus is game in Castlebar & hopefully not a drspecial cold May Saturday evening.

Tuamstar,.. As a Mayo fan I certainly hope we get to play Galway in Tuam Stadium in the League… I never liked Salthill, too windy, traffic desperate.. Tuam has a Football feel about the place… I don’t know what the capacity of Tuam nowadays, 15K would be as much I’d say.. If we play Galway in Tuam and both of us going well, it will sell out.. Regardless of the situation with both Galway and Mayo I can’t see that figure being reached for a league fixture in Salthill…. Now if either one or both of us are regelated by then it will be a quiet different seneraio… Let’s hope both Connacht teams are on course to make the League Final and I hope the Rossi get promoted as well… That’s the end of my benevolence for one night… I hope we hammer them both in the championship,!

Some guys here totally missing the point. Of course we are better than Galway. But we were better than them in the last 2 years as well and we lost both times. We are better than Ross too but they almost beat us in Croker. The fact is that we are not playing Galway in Croker in Sept. Anyone who knows much about football is aware that you cant be expected to peak in May and keep it going until September. In the last 2 years Mayo timed their fitness for Aug_ Sept, not for May_ June. Should Mayo lose and even be successful in back door they will probably end up in same group as Dubs, Tyrone and possibly Cork. Now before you all start saying we almost beat Dublin and Tyrone are useless lets not forget Cork almost beat us in Limerick. I was hoping for the easiest possible draw. Instead we get Galway in first round. If we win we then have awkward trip to Sligo followed by a final v the Conn champions. Am I afraid of any of these. No. But I am looking at the bigger picture. Three tough games in Connacht is not what we wanted. It will make for a great Connacht championship, but I had been setting my sights on Sept 2.

See thats half the problem with us.wer gone a big negative again after losing to Galway twice in 2 years.Where the 2nd best team in the country we should be steamrolling through Connacht .Dublin dont talk up Kildare and Meath like we talk up Galway and Ross.Fair enough I agree on points that we maybe came into the 2 Galway games at 60% fitness.I feel since the Ross replay we are back playing our best football the running game like the Horan era but with even a better team so I see us getting through Connacht quite easily next year.Biggest thing now we need to find is a bench to replace our magnificent 1st 15!!

I can see us losing to Galway again and then cranking out the results through the back door. This team needs serious pressure to perform at their top level and only when the real knockout start that we get motoring. Galway then back door x3. Then super8 x3. Then semi and final. Just 9 games will do it. God bless the club player…..

I always felt we’d need to be ready earlier next summer because of super 8 and rekon Rochford and Co would have identified that.
Few points:
1) Mayo undercooked in 2015 and Galway came to town with some clever tactics especially conceding kickouts to Kevin Keane who doesn’t stray past the 50. Their goal gave them hope for the first time in a few years and fair play they went for it.
2) Mayo had gotten to grips this year until the sending off. Then bar a 5 min blitz after half time we remained stronger than them with 14. They are also gifted some lenient game changing hits by the referee. True they played a high intensity game that day but that was their peak.
The Boyle decision gave an up and coming player a chance, something many here want to happen. That can’t happen unless top players aren’t started. Coen had a very solid game, sure Boyler may have been even better but sometimes better players are rested to give new lads a run. Sometimes backfires.
3) Galway are improving, Daly will come more to the fore, their U21 full back is a future star and a few more like Brannagan means they have serious forward pace.
4) Mayo are now super battle hardened and will take some beating in Connaught. Management have gained insight into what tactics / substitutions work.

Management had a good year fine tuning us into the most formidable team of the current era with the help of the back door. I expect it to help us in the league and championship even if we don’t put much effort into winning the league.

Thinking over this draw in the few hours since I heard it makes me believe that it could be the ideal draw for us this coming year. If management give the younger generation their head during the league and they perform reasonably well there is no reason why they should not be able for Galway. And if they are able for Galway they have a damn good case for retaining their place for the rest of the championship. What better incentive can they have for the next 8 months? If on the other hand they met either Sligo or Leitrim instead of Galway a win would not prove anything except that they are good enough to beat Sligo or Leitrim – who will not win anything anyway.
You can be damn sure that Galway are not relishing the draw either – look at their results for the last two years. They beat Mayo early on, then flop at the business end of the championship and watch Mayo go on to the the Final both years. Are they possibly worried about peaking too soon as well?

Galway might be improving,but defensively,they are as useful as a sword in the Somme.They were hanging on for dear life last year at the end,although Mayo’s failure to close it out had some similarities with the all Ireland final.The league will tell us a lot about where Galway are going,every game is going to be a hard one l think.Whatever team Mayo put out next may will be vastly more experienced,can they handle it,they need to win it more than Galway

Lads and lassies of were back to Worrying about beating Galway and Roscommon then we may as well throw our hat at trying to win Sam. May is 7 months away loads of time to get fit and be ready for them I’m more concerned about Aido or any of our boys getting injured in the Aussie rules series

I think a lot are picking up those being pessimistic about the draw wrongly

It’s not a black & white situation

The issue isn’t worrying about beating Galway. Of course we’re capable of doing that. It’s that in terms of intensity and belief that Galway are our biggest test in the country after Dublin, Kerry and Tyrone.

On no planet is this an ideal scenario – having to expend ourselves in May. While Dublin and Kerry can have their feet up till August.

Add that to the fact that it’s certainly a game we could potentially lose and you’re looking at 4 back door matches till a Super 8 showdown (where we would be 3rd seeds in a group, I assume)

Connacht seems to be the most interesting championship. The super 8 format will see every team trying to run through the front door. We may see that “knockout” edge in the provincial championships next year.

The Mayo v Galway game is huge because the loser has to play SEVEN games to reach a semi final. Now while I would rule out Mayo doing a run again, surly we just can’t keep coming back this way? And Galway are so inconsistent that they would be caught out along the way….this game will be huge. Add to the fact we owe them after the last 2 years.

It is however way too early to make any assumptions….the League has to be played yet and we don’ know for sure if Rochford will stay on?

Firstly in regard to Stephen I certainly hope he stays on ,but probably waiting to get clarity from the county board ,secondly we have to beat whoever is in front of us we should not fear anyone, up Mayo

Nobody should be fearing Galway in the 1st round of the championship, this doesn’t inspire much confidence for another crack at Dublin in the final. Mayo had a great long run in this years final, this may have been the reason that a good few guys were wrecked approaching injury time in the final.
The Dubs will be in the final next year, it will be interesting to see if a few new guys could be added to the panel.
I have seen only one match from this years Mayo championship, Claremorris v Ballintubber. It’s fairly obvious to see that Claremorris have no players of County standard ( little footballing ability, physically weak in alot of areas) Tubbers current Mayo and past Mayo players are at a higher level also throw the Tubbers corner forward into that group, I think his name is O Malley a day 2 defenders.
Hard to imagine how Claremorris beat Breaffy.
The Mayo manager can see this, he was right to hold off from making a quick decision for next season. A manager can only play guys that he can trust to do a job in the course of battle at County level.
I have first hand experience at a Dublin team drill, very interesting, one of the Dubs defenders came to my daughters training session and applied a good training drill, my daughters team are into the u 14 Dublin final on Sunday next.

The Lord save us and bless us……ah its not too bad really. Would we have seen September football the last two years if we’d beaten Galway? Who knows but to my mind the qualifiers sharpened us for sure. And the goal by Loftus, I wouldn’t swap that for anything. Either way ’18 is a new year and the past means nada. Up Mayo!!

Definitely a tricky draw as Rochford won’t want Mayo having to peak in mid May and again in August and the last few years have shown that when we are not quite at our best, Galway are more than capable of beating us. They don’t fear playing Mayo. Even when they only have a middling side themselves.

Roscommon the beneficiaries of some very handy draws the past few years. Being on the opposite side of the draw to Mayo, Galway and Sligo is incredible for them. They can practically ignore Leitrim/NY and put all their focus in peaking for the Connacht final. And even if they lose that they are only one game away from the Super 8’s.

@Mayo88 There are players of County ability on that Claremorris team. Matthew Macken and Conor Diskin I think will be very good performers for next years u20s. Personally I think Diskin will play holy hell at u20 level. There won’t be defenders strong enough to mark him.
Matthew Macken then is a strong driving centre back. Again very strong for current u19.

However, this game is going to be played around 13th of May or so and that’s a very early start for our crew. This is where we differ from Dublin big time. Dublin could play an All Ireland in mid May, we just can’t the way we are set up. We won’t have all the guys together until June, so that leaves us vulnerable. Even newbies who may be tried and tested in the league won’t be up to this level.

Not to be disrespectful but simply getting a spot in the Super 8’s will be the extent of their realistic ambition this year. So in a sense this match will be their own All Ireland final, or semi if you were. Basically their year can already be planned around this match

For Mayo it’s all about winning a match in September, which will take place 3 months after this game.

Very dangerous opener

But for the Super 8’s I wouldn’t overly be bothered. We now have to navigate two 2017 All Ireland QF-ists before even reaching that stage

It’s a great draw
Focus the mind.
Galway at home in Castlebar
Whether Mayo play them early in May Or 5 weeks later in a Connacht final it’s all the same thing.
Let’s not go negative about it.
There are going to be a lot of games whatever way you look at it.

JP, watching the Claremorris v Ballintubber game on Sunday last was liking watching under 14 play against minors. The gap was huge all over the pitch, Ballintubber had much more physical power, in defence, particularly at midfield and the big guns in the forward line, I do agree that Matthew Macken did well when introduced but the 1st half was terrible to watch, game over after 15 minutes. The worrying thing was that not a single Claremorris player was able to take the fight to Ballintubber in the 1st half, all heads dropped after the 2nd goal, the defence could not apply the simple art of man marking, Tubber took it easy in the 2nd half with one eye on the final.
On a slightly more positive note for all Mayo followers, the Dublin Senior football championship has been very poor this year, with Ballymun Kickhams and St Vincents blowing all other opposition away in the run up to the forthcoming Bank Holiday Monday final, there seems to be a large gap between the top 3 or 4 teams and the rest.

I must say I am very surprised with the level of negativity over this draw. Of course in an ideal world it is not the draw we wanted but you can be sure it is not what Galway wanted either as now they will have to reassess their approach to the league, and you can be certain after how long it took them to get back to Division 1 they don’t want it to be a one season visit.
As for us I believe it is absolutely vital that we win Connacht and believe we will. We are a better team than Galway and had only ourselves to blame for the last two years. Those defeats were not due to anything Galway did but entirely down to our failings on the day. That won’t happen again. Keep the faith and ditch the negativity

Just wondering have people seen the videos on Joe.ie of the behind the scenes/dressing room reaction of McStay and the Roscommon senior team during the 2017 championship. Worth a look. I know it doesn’t give the full picture but from what it showed I thaught the preparation, tactics etc looked poor enough. Didn’t seem to be massive tactics or half time analysis etc. McStay wouldn’t inspire you with too much confidence from what was shown. What did rest of ye think?

Well im just glad that Mayo didnt allow that filming behind the scenes..can you imagine the scrutiny and all the comments on facebook. I see Aiden is tipped to be Irish captain v Aussies – hopefully he wont get injured. Wonder will auld Martin Breheny have another ‘article’. No Dubs going. They probably started training already for next year! Agree with another poster it feels like next year is last chance saloon for a lot of this great team.

Nephin it did show it.. South Mayo, Honestly you cant take anything from that, its edited to a few seconds, McStay had told them beforehand that they could only film certain parts. Its harmless enough viewing but good to see behind the scenes moments..

A lot of OTT stuff on here since the draw. Some people have a complex about Galway. Which ever team wins our quarter final can get to a semi final with playing 5 games. The loser has to play 7. and its not the end of the world. If Rochy is not staying on with his management team intact then all this fear is academic. I am happy to take a close look at Galway in Div 1 first. I was very surprised with them v Tipperary but all my Galway friends put this down to a bad day at the ofice. When I saw them v Kerry this summer I decided to make up my own mind about these so called great forwards we were being told about. For those interest in the Nestor cup should be concentrating on the real challengers The Rossies

Congrats to Kilmovee Shamrocks on winning the Co Junior tonight. Well done to all who kept the club going down through the bleak years. Last Co Junior Final was in 1990. Long time ago. Well done again and enjoy the celebrations. Na Seamrogai abu.

Rochford said he would take October to decide..Has he not earned the luxury of a month free from all things Mayo??He has been criticised and scrutinised since January,labelled a donkey in August and dealt with a torturous defeat in September..Cut him some slack.

Hear hear Regina well said, one month away from an all consuming, massively time absorbing role is not too much to ask – the sky is not going to fall in on Mayo football for another few weeks, when a man of his character throws in his lot once more it will pretty much take over his life again even in the off season so lets give him at least another weekend or two of a break

The Mayo News report says Stephen is almost certain to stay on for another year. Meeting co board officials this weekend and his decision will be conveyed to club delegates at a meeting during the week.

I agree Stephen Rochford should be given time and space to make his decision and recharge the batteries if he’s staying on. Personally I hope and think he will. I know we lost to Galway the last 2 years but realistically we will beat them in Mc Hale park I know it will be May and we are slow starters but needs must and we could do with winning another Connacht title let’s hope a few new lads will put their hands up during the FBD and the league. Someone mentioned about Sligo waiting for us
In the long grass and not forgetting the hammering we gave them. Fair enough if they are waiting for us let’s cross that bridge if we come to it loads of football to be played before May. Can’t wait. The cloud of depression has lifted over the county. We are Mayo and we never give up.

Congrats to Moygownagh, a small club who have struggled in recent years. Won the junior C title tonight and it’s great to see them up in junior B next year. A club who gave us Pat Holmes and Anthony Finnerty, would be great to see them produce one or two more players of that ilk.

Best of luck to all teams in their respective finals tomorrow. Hopefully better conditions than today. Well done to Knockmore minors who beat Louisburgh minors in the division 1 minor S.league final in Bekan today in horrific conditions.
Both teams handling was exceptional given the driving rain and Gale force wind. Louisburgh big strong physical team and extremely fit so credit to management. Knockmore while smaller moved ball better and supporting runs and excellent defensive set up compensated enough for size differential to get them the win.

Reape scored 1-7, scored some excellent points. One in particular in the first half. Both teams full forward lines were on top and look dangerous. Bohola Moy Davits Heneghan is a real live wire, better ground conditions he would be even better. Young Liam Byrne is also a tidy player, two years as a Mayo minor not involved at Mayo U21 this year and will miss out next year, the same can be said for Cillian Finn from Kiltimagh not involved the last couple of years at Mayo U21 or didn’t get a look in at minor level, very surprising as he looks very classy and with Kiltimagh always heavily involved at underage level, Jason Forkan, Sean Walsh and TJ Byrne were all included in the U21 panel this year, Definitely would have had Finn selected in front of Forkan.

Mauomann, its not a joke that an announcement hasn’t been made yet. Stephen stated that he would be taking the month of October before making a decision, his wishes should be respected, a month away to take stock is the least he deserves after the past two years.

Well done to.Castlebar. Condolences to Ballintubbeer. Hope all the Ballintubbeer lads take a much deserved break from football for the next 4 months. Suppose the castlebar lads have to keep up the training. They’ll get no break at all this year if the get to the AI final which they’ll have a fair stab at.